Payments, Tech, Ecommerce & Rants

Apple Pay – Apple – Poo? What do you think?

With 250,000 Apple Pay-ready POS ready in the UK, so most iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users will be able to use the service immediately.. As is par for the course with things like this, there is a £20 cap on spending for each Apple Pay service just as their is for contactless payments.

Apple Pay is Apple’s contactless payments system and app-based purchasing system. For contactless payments Apple Pay works with the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and the Apple Watch. Apple Pay can also be used to make in-app purchases. In those cases, Apple Pay works with the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 3.

For contactless payments, it transfers protected tokens over the NFC chips found in the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and the Apple Watch. On the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users authenticate their purchases using the Touch ID and on the Apple Watch users authenticate their purchases when the Watch is initially strapped to their wrist.

It isn’t novel and they aren’t a payment gateway – essentially, its skimming profits from the other players.

The great thing is its going to open up the landscape for other providers to innovate and provide even cooler services..

Not particularly disruptive, PayPal has been able to do this for years, and the Barclay B-Pay is even cooler (and cheaper) – but PayPal have missed a trick due to a real lack of innovation and bravery.

What Banks Support Apple Pay In The UK?

Bank support for Apple Pay in the UK is coming in two waves. The initial wave will support Apple Pay in July. This wave of banks include First Direct, HSBC, NatWest, Nationwide Building Society, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and Ulster Bank.

Because of the cool B-Pay product I mentioned, one huge omission from the list of wave one and two banks is Barclays. After Apple Pay in the UK was announced at WWDC the bank tweeted “We’ve been talking with Apple about how our customers could use Apple Pay in addition to our existing mobile and payment services, and that these talks remain constructive”. It disappointing that Barclays isn’t supporting Apple Pay from the get go–and a bit surprising–as they already have one of the best mobile banking apps on iOS.

Which Retailers Supporting Apple Pay In The UK?

At launch in July Apple Pay in the UK will be available at over 250,000 retail locations. That’s 20% more locations than what Apple Pay originally launched with in the US (now in the US Apple Pay is available at over 1 million retail locations). Major retailers that will support Apple Pay this July include Boots UK, BP, Costa Coffee, Dune, JD Sports, KFC UK & Ireland, Liberty, LIDL, Marks & Spencer (M&S), McDonald’s UK, Nando’s, New Look, Post Office, Pret A Manger, SPAR, Starbucks, SUBWAY stores, Wagamama and Waitrose.

Are There Transaction Limitations For Apple Pay?

Yes. Upon launch most Apple Pay transactions will be limited to £20 or less. If your purchase is greater than £20 you’ll need to use your chip and pin card. This isn’t an Apple-imposed limitation. The £20 limit is hardcoded into contactless payment terminals. However, come September these contactless payment terminals will raise their transaction limits to £30.

Can I Use Apple Pay On Public Transport?

Yes! And this is the most awesome feature of Apple Pay in the UK (if you live in London anyway). Transport for London has announced that it will support Apple Pay for all tube, rail, and bus journeys in the capital. Making the announcement TFL’s Director of Customer Experience Shashi Verma said, “With around one in ten of all contactless transactions in the UK now taking place on our transport services in London, we are delighted to welcome Apple Pay as another new and convenient contactless way for our customers to pay for their travel. I would encourage anyone who uses pay as you go to try contactless. There’s no need to top-up, just touch in and out with your mobile device, credit or debit card.”

That means no more fumbling in your wallet for your Oyster or current contactless card. Pretty cool.

I’d rather have the Barclays band and a Windows Phone – but the possibility for APPs and SMBs is the one to watch..

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Published by ItsClem

Tom is an eCommerce, payments, tech startup, marketing and retail professional. With 15 years experience in multi-channel - yes I've worked in a real shop.
Currently freelancing - I help startups and growing businesses through planning, business development, channel strategies, operations overhauls and quite often just some sage words of wisdom.
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